In the shipping and storing of products particularly those for cold storage, like foods, a storage compartment may be separated into sub-compartments to segregate products. This can be because of the need to segregate an order for one customer from another customer or to segregate products by type or storage conditions, e.g., frozen from refrigerated from ambient. Such storage can be on a trailer for use with a truck tractor (a semi-truck), a straight truck or van body, or the like. When a mobile storage compartment is involved, the bulkheads are movable relative to the interior walls of the storage compartment to accommodate various types and sizes of loads at various times within the storage compartment. The bulkheads are movable and can be secured in a desired location for example with straps attached to securement devices within the storage compartment. The bulkheads will typically include a main panel, having outer peripheral edges providing a bulkhead sized and shaped to fit within the compartment and engage surfaces defining the perimeter of the storage compartment. The main panel may be either of a single panel portion or a multiple panel portion bulkhead joined at a seam as for example with one or more hinge assemblies. A panel may comprise an insulating member, a bottom skirt or kick plate for engagement with the storage compartment floor, and outer peripheral edges along the sides and top of the panel. Seals may be provided at one or more of the edges typically, the top and side edges to help effect a seal between sidewalls and a ceiling and perhaps even the floor, to environmentally seal one sub-compartment from another sub-compartment. While prior art bulkheads have been used effectively, they do present certain problems. A principal problem with these bulkheads is that the seals wear requiring either very expensive repair or replacement of the bulkhead panels or at least a new seal. Panels have been provided with replaceable seals, but replacement requires proximity to a source of replacement seals and tools to effect the replacement. Neither of these options can be conveniently done without return to a repair center.
There is thus a need for an improved bulkhead with an improved seal.